Church

[katethegreatest]

Since church started being online-only back in mid-March (a week before the governor required it - I'm a little proud that my church was so considerate), I haven't watched many online services. Actually I watched exactly one. Or perhaps half of one. I have an intellectual bent, so I love that whenever the pastor opens his mouth one can tell that he

Comments

[cosmic_reverie]

Finding the right church is so important. When we first moved to this house, we attended the closest Catholic church. It took us a year to realize it wasn't a good fit. I have issues with the priest (he's sexist and he gives factually incorrect homilies) and toddler Josephine became more difficult to handle. Thankfully, our second closest Catholic church had a free nursery! That was a much better fit. But then Josephine aged out of the nursery and it became a problem again. For some reason, Josephine would cry during the early stages of Mass, full on bawl her eyes out as if something had truly upset her, but since she doesn't speak, I couldn't figure out what. Every week became me going to Mass, Leo in the nursery, and Nathan out on the church playground with Josephine.

Until the pandemic. I tried to watch video recordings of Mass, but then Josephine started crying! It turns out it's the music. Something about people singing church music in unison really, truly upsets her. So I gave up on watching Mass and instead I read the daily Mass readings and reflections (mini homilies) aloud to her every day. Our church recently started outdoor Mass, but I'm supposed to be in quarantine before I give birth, so I haven't gone, and I won't go for a while after the baby is born. I miss Mass, but this is our season in life. I know formal church isn't a good fit for Josephine because of her autism so I fully expect to do her religious education at home, anyway.

God knows our intentions. He knows we'd be there if we could. He knows we're doing the best we can for our families. It sounds like you've found something that works well for you. At-home liturgy sounds nice! In a way, we've been spoiled in the US in the 21st century. So many places around the world and in the past haven't had access to regular Mass and had to figure out how to worship from home as we are doing now. The struggle and compromise helps me to feel closer to those Catholics who haven't been as fortunate as us.